Chris' Card Center
by Ara Goddess of the Broken
Summary: After Yugi and Ryou run away after terrible abuse from the gang, they move to a nearby city and make friends with the owners of two card shops, and get jobs at one of them, Chris' Card Center. rr plz, YAOI: YBR YYY
1. Illusions

AN: Hello guys, here's a story idea I based off my song, which is included towards the end of this chapter. This IS a Yugi/OC pairing, as much as I love puzzleshipping, doesn't work well with this story, so sorry, but for those of you who love Yaoi, try my other YGO story, Whirlwind, I'm gonna start getting into that stuff soon.

Yami Mirei: YAY, ANOTHER STORY!

Yugi: Sweet I'm the main character in this!

Yami Yugi: (reads first page) ARA! WHAT THE HELL DID YOU MAKE ME DO TO MY HIKARI?

Ara: Gotta go, so here's the basics, don't own the characters, cept my OCs and I own my song, if this song shows up anywhere and I didn't give them permission, beware! Ciao!

Yami Yugi: GET BACK HERE, YOU LITTLE –(rushes off to capture the writer and make her change it(as if it could ever happen))

Yami Mirei and Yugi: (sweat drop)

* * *

'To think that I loved him ... to think that I _loved_ that arrogant, ignorant, idiot of a pharaoh!' I thought with a sniffle as I looked around yet again with teary eyes. It was a blur of colors all around me as I fell. 

After my other side received a body of his own, I was useless. I was nothing more than a burden. So they made me clean up after them, cook for them, be their servant. The scars I had on my wrists multiplied, but always they would heal me. He said, "I'm not done with you yet."

I had slowly tripped and fallen from grace. I had no time for school, and I had to drop out. I was bullied everyday by wither my so-called 'friends' or by thugs in the streets. If I ran away from my friends, the thugs found me. If I stayed, they forced me to work while enduring abuse.

I had finally had it. I had written a note one night, used my- no, Yami's puzzle to weight it down. I had packed what little I still considered mine into my old backpack: the picture of my family, from before any of this ever happened, money I had stashed right after my grandpa died, the time when I tripped and began to fall, a few sets of clothes, some of the bulky jewelry I had worn when Yami was still just a spirit in a puzzle, and my music books.

I had grabbed my backpack and guitar and left one night after I went into the main room of the house, and after setting up the pictures of me and my friends back when we were happy, I set fire to it. The fire alarm would wake them up well after I was gone. I cleaned out everyone's wallets before I walked out the front door and heard it slam behind me. I went to the train station, got a ticket, and took the overnight train to a nearby city.

I went into my small room and collapsed onto the bed after I double-locked the door. I was so tired, I hadn't felt it before because I was still near that place. As the train left, I fell asleep, feeling free.

I woke the next morning just before we pulled into the station. After I got off, I searched for a cheap hotel to stay. I found one a few blocks from a gaming shop, which is where I headed after I settled into the room.

I walked in and saw it was not too different from the shop that my Grandpa used to run. This one had a wider variety of games, some of which were foreign. They had trading card games from all over, not just Duel Monsters. Then the shopkeeper came out of the back.

"Welcome to my shop! Anything particular you're looking for, or are you just browsing?" Her long wavy dark brown hair perfectly complemented her grey eyes and her outfit. She had on back pants that were covered with pockets and a scarlet tank top.

"I'm trying to reassemble my Duel Monsters deck, and also look at a few other trading card games." I said as I picked up a two-player starter deck of one of them, "This one was very interesting."

"Ah, 'Magic, the Gathering'! You have a good eye, my cute friend, this game is gonna be huge soon! It's already hit it pretty big in America, that's where I moved here from. I can show you a thing or two about how to play 'Magic'."

"Cool, but first I wanted to get myself a new duel-disk and deck for Duel Monsters."

"I have a friend a few blocks over who sells custom duel-disks and rare cards. I could take you over there after we're done here."

"Really? Thanks!"

"No problem, um... I never caught your name."

"Yugi Mutou, at your service."

"Yugi Mutou?" She gasped, "Aren't you that famous Duel Monsters Champion?"

"Don't remind me, please, it's a long and painful story..."

"Sorry. By the way, my name is Tatiana."

"Nice to meet you."

"Now, any cards you wanted in particular?"

"No, not really ... I'm just trying to find cards that feel right..."

* * *

Three hours and over 60 Duel Monsters cards later, she and I had finally finished up. She gave me a Magic: The Gathering deck. 

"Here, this is the deck I used to become a 'Magic' champion. I know it will help you as much as it helped me, maybe more."

"How much do I owe you?"

"Nothing, Yugi, it's on me."

"I insist, how much?"

"Yugi, you're my friend, and I can tell that you're already going through tough times."

"How did you know?"

"Because your grandpa's shop was on the news this morning. No one was hurt, but about half of the fire burned. They say it was an accident of some kind." She raised a single eye at me.

"Yeah, that was an accident. An accident that they made by making me into their slave." I said with a voice filled with icy spikes, "Please don't turn me in."

"Don't worry about it, you're secrets safe with me. Anyway, in my opinion, that was awesome, what'd ya do?"

"I had packed up my stuff, piled up all the old pictures of my friends and I back when we were still friends. I lit a bottom corner of it and left.

"Weren't you worried they might damage the shop?"

"What was in there to worry about? The shop had closed months ago, all that was left were a few cards and games in the display windows."

"Well, anyway, the damage wasn't too bad, just a hole in the floor they'll have to fix as well as having to get all new carpet and furniture for the room. Major cleaning."

"Well, I'm not around now, so I wonder who's gonna do it. Especially since I cleaned them out since all of their money was my inheritance from my grandpa."

"How sad."

"Why do you think I left?"

"Well, now that we're done here, let's over to Chris' place."

"Chris?"

"He's my friend, runs a card game shop. It's just down the street." She said as she grabbed a hoodie and a messenger bag she put over her shoulder to cross her chest. She closed and locked the shop

She and I walked through the busy streets in silence. After a few minutes I saw a small two-story shop colored rustic red. The sign above it looked like a hand of cards and in them was written in big gold letters 'Chris' Card Center'. He had all different trading card games in the display windows. We walked inside and I gasped in awe as a smile found its way onto my face. This place was a restaurant, an arcade, and a card vendor all jumbled into one. On the ground floor was the card shop and the arcade, and two spiral staircases led up to a teen-oriented restaurant and candy store.

"You know the guy who owns this place?"

"Of course I know him! He's my husband!" She laughed as she walked into the arcade. I followed her quickly. A crowd of people were hovered around a table. We shoved our way to the front.

Two teens were dueling. One was Tatiana's age, the other was a few years younger, probably my age. The one Tatiana's age was dressed in a pair of baggy black pants, a silver-grey shirt, and a grey full length duster. He had long black blonde hair pulled back into a narrow ponytail. His deep emerald eyes were filled with determination.

The younger one had pure blue eyes and long light blue hair. She had on an ocean blue school uniform and wore a bulky necklace. It was a golden orb with the eye of Anubis on it held to a chain by a silver figure-eight shaped loop. They were playing a game of Magic: The Gathering, and the dude in grey was preparing to attack.

"I tap these." He turned four Mana sideways, "I activate their special abilities, giving my Fairy +10, my other monsters get rid of your current monsters, and I have my fairy directly attack you, and you lose."

The girl slumped a bit in her chair, a bit disappointed, "Damn, I lost _again_."

"Chris, shame on you for using that card on a novice!" Tatiana frowned as she walked over the winner.

"Sorry, darling." He said as he stood up and grabbed her, kissing her hard and long. I looked away slightly blushing and turned to the girl.

"So, how bad was I?" She asked.

"I dunno, I'm kinda new to Magic and I was only here to watch him finish you off."

"Great, you didn't witness my ass getting fried by that blasted card!"

"But isn't the card out of your class, making it an unfair duel?"

"I guess you're right." She said as she put away her deck.

"What's your name?"

"I'm Ara."

"I'm Yugi. Nice to meet you."

"I haven't seen you here before. New in town?"

"Yeah, just got here this morning."

"You have a good eye, then. Most newcomers don't hear about this place for weeks."

"Oh, Tatiana brought me here. She's helping me build myself a new deck and get me a new duel disk. She also gave me her first Magic deck so I could learn it."

"You're lucky! Most players would give an arm and a leg for that deck!"

"Why's that? It's just a rookie deck, isn't it?"

"She's never lost a single duel with it after she learned the basics, and she kept that deck the same for three years! Then she began to form a new deck, that was her side deck. Wonder why she gave it to you."

"I wonder why as well. If it meant that much to her, why'd she give it to me?"

"Well, we can find out later."

"Ah, Yugi, I see you've already met Ara. Now, meet my husband, Lee Chris."

"It's a pleasure, Mr. Lee."

"Call me Chris, Yugi, it's an honor to have a Duel Monsters Champion coming to my shop."

"You have quite an amazing establishment, Chris. I have a feeling I'm going to spend much time here as soon as I settle down and find a job."

"You're in luck! I've been needing someone to help run the bar with my wife."

"Bar?" I was surprised.

"Yeah! After the sun goes down, we close the restaurant and it becomes a bar. We close the shop, only the arcade and the bar are open, but we still need another hand to run it. You only have to work nights, I'll pay you well for it, and I'll let you buy cards and a custom duel disk at an eighth of the price. 'Tiana told me you're assembling a new deck and you also need a new duel disk, and I'm more than happy to help."

"When do I start, and also, during the day, can I help out at the shop for extra money?"

"Sure." He was amazed I wanted to work more than just nights, "You can start tonight. 'Tiana can help you get a good outfit and train you for the job this afternoon. Now, let's get started on your deck..." He led me over to the card shop and began to take our card displays for me to look at. Certain cards called out to me, more Horus cards than anything else. Horus cards made up a good fifth of my deck. I chose about 15 advanced magic cards and a half-dozen rare trap cards for my deck, and looked. Everything looked pretty balanced, so I said I was done and we could look at duel disks now, but Tatiana cut in.

"Before we buy you your duel disk, you need a new style. I know that you'll attract far too much attention in that outfit and I know you want to change it. You feel uncomfortable in them."

"Do you know everything?"

"If I did, I would have created my own company and put Kaiba Corp. out of business."

"It takes a lot to bring Seto down, but I believe you could have done it."

"You know him?"

"Yeah, he was one of my so-called friends." I frowned and then looked at the door.

"So, let's go get me my new look, shall we?"

"Gladly."

* * *

I felt like a new person now. In less than 24 hours, I had gone from a slave to a free man who had a cool look, a good deck, a custom duel disk that complimented his style, and a good job. I was wearing baggy black pants, a spiky belt, a black tank top and a white silk, button-up tuxedo shirt that was entirely unbuttoned, allowing motion and a laidback look. I had a jacket I would wear instead of the tuxedo shirt during the day. I had a pair of bar-tied skater shoes on as well as some spiky bracelets. 

I handed a depressed young man his drink and asked, "Who died?"

"Huh?"

"What's got you so down?"

"My girlfriend dumped me for some rich thug."

"You're better off."

"How can you say that?"

"Do you have a surplus of money that your girlfriend would borrow?"

"Yeah-" He added it up, "That bitch!"

"You're better off. If she tries to get back together, tell her to get lost."

"Thanks, man." He handed me a thousand yen bill, "Keep the change."

"Thanks!" I grinned before I went and paid the bill before I put the change in the TIPS jar; we would split it at the end of the night.

This sort of thing happened all night. I helped the depressed customers and tried to perk them up a little, and if I did, I usually got a good tip. At the end of the night, we had overfilled our TIPS jar and had started to just put the tips in our pockets to add to it when it was finally time to divide it up. The waitresses were shocked how much I brought in.

"You really racked it up tonight, Mutou, good job!" They praised me as we cleaned up at two in the morning. Tatiana divided the tips.

"75,000 yen each, and a little extra for Yugi, for a marvelous first night."

I blushed bright red and all the waitresses laughed and showered me with remarks about how cute I was when I was embarrassed. As we left, Tatiana came up to me and asked, "Alright, we get paid at the end of every month, so these tips are mostly what keep us afloat. Yugi, you just set everyone up for the rest of the month."

"Awesome."

"So, where're you headed?"

"My hotel."

"Tomorrow we're finding you an apartment, or a house, you can probably afford it."

"Probably. I think I have two million yen with these tips."

"You're rich!"

"Not really."

"Yes really! Chris is paying you thirty thousand yen a month for the night shifts, then extra for however much you work during the day. Now go home and get some sleep."

When I hit my pillow, I faded back into my sleep and found it more peaceful than it had ever been.

* * *

My life slipped into a routine. I woke up at around 10 in the morning, got dressed, ate breakfast, then ran any errands before I went over to the card shop and dueled til lunch. After lunch I would help run the shop while talking with the customers and other workers about gaming strategies and such. After a quick dinner, I changed clothes and went up to the bar, earning big tips when I help perk up people. 

Tatiana found me a house that's a few blocks away from her husband's card shop. It was two stories, but it was a real fixer-upper. Some afternoons we took off to renovate it. We redid the flooring, sheetrock, and then painted the walls and began to buy furniture. In the end, my home was perfectly suited to my needs.

I had the master bedroom to myself, and then there were two spare bedrooms in case anyone ever needed a place to stay. The walls were grey, the carpet was black, and I had furnished it with a computer workstation and a TV. In the upstairs main room was my game room, which had every console gaming system currently available, all my favorite role-play games, two tables for card games, board games and duels, and a game library.

Downstairs was the kitchen, dining room, and living room. The living room had a few bean bag chairs, a couch, a entertainment system, and a coffee table. Everything in this room was either wood, silver metal, or white.

I had also began to make friends. Ara came over a lot, and few played games to help each other get better as well as just to have fun. Right now I was helping clean up the restaurant and get the bar ready. Once the kitchen was closed, my job was pretty simple because I was in charge of setting up the drinks behind the bar. I flipped some bottles in my hand while I worked, making it seem a little more interesting. After I was done, I told Tatiana to open the bar.

Tonight was our first karaoke night. Tatiana hadn't said who was running it though. I began to serve drinks when she came up to me and asked, "What are you doing back here?"

"My job?"

"Nope, you're running karaoke."

"Me! Are you on crack or something!"

"Nope, because if we don't have anyone up there, you get to fill the time with your songs." She pulled something out from under the bar and shoved it into my chest. It was my guitar case.

"Make us proud, Yug."

I wove through the crowd over to the stage on which karaoke was set up. There was no one near it.

"Alright, ladies and gentlemen, tonight is the first ever Card Shop Karaoke Night! Depressed 'cuz things aren't going your way? Mad at a friend or ex? Sing out your emotion, show the world how you feel through song! Any takers?"

A few people came up and told me they'd do it if the songs were in the machine.

"What song?"

"Teardrop."

"Class."

"It's All Coming Back To Me Now."

"Here's to Love!" A couple shouted out.

"Who wants to open?"

"We will if no one else wants to." The girl who had proposed 'Class' raised her hand.

"Great, then you guys figure out the rest of the line-up."

They did, and the show started without a hitch, only problem was, after about an hour and a half, no one else wanted to do it, so I pulled out my guitar and sighed into the mike as I sat down on a stool I'd brought up there.

"Alright ladies and gentlemen, I am now going to sing a song I wrote, it's dedicated to all my old friends back home. This is for trying to break me!" I began to strum the cords. Then I became focused on the song, and singing it with as much emotion as I could as I thought about my friends.

"Throw me in my cell each night,  
You lock that door, so nice and tight.  
I cry myself to sleep each night,  
Pray the gods will take my life.  
I would love to die tonight.  
But then again..." 

The tempo and emotion in the song changed, I poured anger into my voice now.

"I'm just lost in these illusions,  
Not my shadow at my side.  
Deep within their cold delusions,  
Each new day is no surprise.  
I'm just lost in my illusions,  
Let me wake before my death!  
Buried deep in sick delusions,  
Will I wake 'fore my last breath?" 

I saw my friends smiling faces before me and I let a single tear fall down my cheek.

"I live this torture every day,  
I pray this all will fade away.  
'It's just a dream!' I scream every night,  
'Created by my doubt and fright!'  
Then I wake, that isn't so,  
My shattered life it's full of woe!  
I would LOVE to die tonight!  
But then again... I'm just lost in these illusions,  
Not my shadow at my side.  
Deep within their cold delusions,  
Each new day is no surprise.  
I'm just lost in my illusions,  
Let me wake before my death!  
Buried deep in sick delusions,  
Will I wake 'fore my last breath!" 

Another tear escaped as I remembered all the pictures I piled up and burned. My guitar was quiet and sad, as it was during the first verse.

"I must escape this hellish life,  
Wake up from dreams of this cruel strife.  
I pack my things; leave what I know.  
Take off the puzzle; let it go.  
Pile up the things from long ago,  
Back when we wouldn't let go.  
Never give up, and never stop!  
But you did, you all gave up!  
You took my power, gave me pain,  
Made me live a life of shame!  
I take a match; that flickering light,  
Hid the memories of this strife.  
Walk out the door, never come again,  
I just woke up, never to sleep again!  
Left it all, I'm better now.  
Can't help but think what you'll do now!  
I wouldn't love to die tonight,  
Because now... I am free of my illusions,  
No more shadow at my side!  
Free from all their cold delusions,  
Now each day's a new surprise!  
I am free of my illusions,  
I woke up and cheated death!  
No more of your sick delusions,  
I woke up before my death... 

I woke up before my death...

Yes, I woke up... before my –"

The anger in my guitar vanished, it was sad and slow now as I sang the last word.

Death..."

"Thanks for everything, guys. Thanks _a lot_." I said before I hung my head and put my right hand up to sheild my eyes

The crowd cheered, and no one was louder than Tatiana and Ara, who rushed onto the stage and hugged me.

"You did good, kid."

I saw an albino kid walk up to me and I instantly recognized him.

"Ryou..." I gasped at his teary-eyed face.

"Yugi, I'm so sorry!" He sobbed as he ran up and hugged me.

(TBC)

* * *

How was it? Flames will be given to my pyromaniac little sister. 

Claws: FIRE!

Yugi: It's so sad... HOW COULD YOUD DO THAT TO ME?(starts crying)

Yami Yugi: No one makes my hikari cry and gets away with it!

Yami Mirei: Cheer up, Yug, at least you got to sing Ara's first song.

Yugi: That was pretty cool...(sniffles and then dries eyes)

Ara: Yeah, and I'll include more of 'em later on. Besides Yami, we're coming to your part soon enough. I'm not making your character a heartless bastard like some people I know. (glares at Kaiba)

Mokuba: Hey! My brother changed!

Ara: (rolls eyes) Right, but see, I just read the original series of manga again, and at the moment, Bakura and Seto didn't look too great.

Ryou: Bakura changed, too!

Ara: For better or worse?

Ryou: (hesitates)

Ara: Gotcha!

-Ara, Goddess of the Broken


	2. May the Tourney begin!

"How did you find me here?"

"I wasn't looking for you, I came here to get away from the others! After you left, they started to hound on me. I ran away like you did."

"Oh, Ryou!"

"Don't worry, I left, I could care less how much I loved my yami, no one treats me that way if I can help it!"

"Let me get you a drink and you can tell me what happened. Tiana, can I work the bar for the rest of the night?"

"After that performance, you could take the rest of the night off."

"No, I need the tips to help pay for some stuff. C'mon Ryou." I hauled him off to the bar, where I got him a White Russian and asked him the basics, was he hurt, did he have any money, etc. He was battered and bruised and he was broke. They had forced him to use his money to fix Yami's place up, and then they turned him into the slave, just like me.

"Whenever we close, I'm taking you back to my place; I've got a room for you there."

"Thanks, Yug, and though it doesn't mean much after 9 months, I'm really sorry."

"You're probably the only person I can forgive. You didn't hurt me like the others, I saw regret in your eyes when you looked at me."

"I feel so stupid!"

"Hey, I forgive you. You're the only one I'm ever gonna forgive. I swore never to help those bastards again, not even it my life depended on it."

"Thank you, Yugi."

"No problem."

The next day, I introduced Ryou to Chris over my usual morning game with him. Chris said he could take the day shift here. We both thanked him greatly and then Ara and Tatiana took us to the mall, wanting Bakura to get a new look for his new job. Something cool, yet something that made him look like he meant business. We ended up getting him navy blue pants with pockets covering them, and then a blue duster to wear over a black button-up shirt with the cuffs left unbuttoned. Casual, yet professional, it was the perfect look for quiet little Ryou.

He woke up early so that he got to work on time, and before he left, he woke me up. I would get up and go run errands before heading over to the shop, which we now spent more time at then my house. After dinner he would go home and relax while I worked the bar unless it was Karaoke Night. The tips and gifts I got from the people I helped and who heard me sing were enough to pay for a small family's living costs for a month!

Life was now very good for the two of us, and I had started to go steady with Ara. Ryou was rebuilding his deck since he left his old one with Bakura, and he got a custom duel disk to match his style. One morning Ryou and I were about to go in at the same time for once, and Tiana gasped when she saw us on the street.

"What are you two doing here still! Oh well, the tournament starts in a few hours, let's get going!"

"What?"

"We're not opening today, there's a big tournament downtown today, players from all over are coming!"

"You want us to go to one of the most likely places the gang will be?"

"I'll be with you guys, if they try to hurt you, I'll make them wish they were never born." She smirked evilly, "Now c'mon, let's go!"

We went to the subway station and went downtown. She led us to a place Ryou and I paled at the site of.

"I didn't know this was here."

"It opens today, that's why."

"It's another Kaiba Land! We're supposed to come to a tournament here?"

"If the Kaiba brothers see up, even in new outfits, we're dead!"

"Chill out." She said as she took out a pair of mirrored sunglasses as we walked into the sun-filled plaza. She and I wove through the crowds towards the front, actually making it to the front. I saw enlarged posters for the tournament hanging around and remembered that you had to sign up for this early.

"Please tell me you didn't sign us both up."

"Of course I did, I mean, it's not as if the Kaiba brothers look over the tournament list themselves-"

"Yes, they do, and now he knows we'll be here somewhere."

"I'm not really worried, there are too many participants here for him to look through them all and find you two, he'll be too busy running this thing."

"Mokuba's running the show today; Seto's playing in the tournament." Ryou said softly.

"How do you- You're right! That was advertised on the poster, a chance to duel against Kaiba Seto, CEO of Kaiba Corp."

"Well, too late now guys, there they are." She pointed towards a limo that the two dark-haired brothers got out. They walked up the red carpet and up to a podium, where Seto announced the beginning of the tournament. The doors opened and the kids flooded in.

We walked up to the sign-in tables and found out who our first opponent were.

"Total stranger." I sighed.

"Hey, I know him from college! This guy will be cake for you!"

"Thanks."

"I've got Honda Hiroto."

"You got Honda!" We both exclaimed

"Well, that means that no one will be there for support."

"'Cept me." Someone grabbed her by the waist from behind, making her gasp in shock.

"Chris!" She yelled in laughter and frustration as she hugged her husband, "Aren't you competing?"

"Nope, I came to watch."

"Who'd ya get, Ryou."

He looked at his card and gulped as a frown found its way onto his face.

"Who?"

He couldn't speak, he just handed me the card that said his first opponent and the meeting place. I gulped.

"Who's he up against?"

"Seto, in the main arena."

"Well, best of luck, Ryou."

"Yeah, and whatever you do, if any of the others are there, don't tell him I'm here." I pleaded.

"Don't worry about that. I won't tell him."

"Good, and also, kick his ass for me."

"Why? Seto wasn't that mean to you was he? He was barely around!"

"I want to face you sometime in here, therefore you have to beat him."

"Alright, I will."

Chris took out three cards and handed one to each of us.

"I usually don't give away rare cards, but you three deserve them."

I looked at mine and gasped, "Where did you get this!"

"Internet auction. I inspected them myself they're the real deal. Each one reflects you. 'The Brain Jacker' card for you, Yugi, because you seem to have a way to persuade people."

"Hey Yugi, remember the 'Monster World' game we had when we first met. Your ability was like that!"

"Oh yeah, I remember that. It was the first time we ever met face to face, Yami and I."

"Those were the good days."

"They were, but they're gone now." I sighed before I looked at the location of my first match and decided to get going.

"Shall we meet up here when we finish our first match?"

"No, didn't you hear? All winners are taken to a private lounge in the back where we stay until our duels."

"Oh, yeah!" I grinned, "Well, see you there."

"You better believe it!" Ara said as she wrapped her arms around me from behind, nearly scaring me out of my wits. I turned around and hugged her back.

"Hey, Ara, did you enter?"

"Yep! I can't wait until I get to duel you, though!"

"Neither can I!" I kissed her before I walked in the direction of my duel, "Above all else, guys, remember we're here to have fun!"

"Yeah, but try not to attract too much attention, Yug!" Ryou called back before I vanished into the crowds.

TBC

* * *

That's right, reveiw and I'll post more

I'm bluffing, go ahead...)

I slipped the card Chris had given me into my deck before I sighed and started towards the main arena. I was happy that he had given me a rare and valuable card, but I was curious as to how I was reflected by the card. It was 'Dedication through Light and Darkness', a spell card that related to Dark Magician. Wait a second – how did Chris know I had Dark Magician of Chaos in my deck? If I draw it, I keep it in my hand, I never play it. I even went downtown to buy it instead of buying it from him.

I approached the player entrance to the main arena and saw a group of people near the door talking to Seto. It was the old gang. I walked right past them and opened the door with my pass before I heard a voice I never wanted to hear again.

"Ryou, is that really you, hikari?" That tone was not as I had expected it, but I didn't care.

I stopped but didn't turn around, "Yes, I am Ryou, though not the same person you knew from before." I pulled my deck out of the holder on my belt as I walked through the door.

"Oh, Ryou..." Bakura's voice sounded so genuine, but I knew it couldn't be. I heard someone walk up next to me and as the door shut.

"Ryou, do you know what you did to them when you left?"

"Do you know what they did to me, what they did to Yugi, as to drive us both to the breaking point!" I snapped at the tall executive, "Or did you just not care that they were abusing us and using us?" I turned and walked through the tunnel, "Let's get this over with, I want to get into the lounge and see my friends."

"Like Yugi?"

"He's here?" I asked, my voice as genuine as could be, "The only reason I'm here is because someone else entered me and I don't forfeit because I might see some unfriendly faces. I can't imagine why the boy who almost burned down the Kame Game Shop out of business would come here."

"You know he's here, and I know you know. You were talking to him before you came here."

"Did Mokuba tell you that from your usual perch, watching everyone up in a video room?" I felt a hard grab my shoulder hard.

"Hate me for not being there, but don't hold a grudge against my brother, too!" He hissed as he squeeze my shoulder so hard it hurt. I didn't budge, still.

"I don't _hate_ either of you. You two didn't know what they did to me, I left so quickly. Yugi stayed and endured it for years before he left, and you did nothing about it! He, the person who has saved you and your precious little brother _repeatedly_ and never heard so much as a 'thank you' from you, suffered in front of the eyes of you and your brother, and Mokuba at first tried to do something about it like me. You did nothing, for Ra knows what pathetic reason!" I snarled as a tear threatened to fall, "You were the only one that could have really done something about it, and you let him down!"

I turned and started to walk away, "Well, he's better off now."

"How much better?"

"He has a house, a good, fun job, and friends who he can count on."

"I'm happy for him." Seto said, sounded defeated. This made me turn around, and frown in confusion.

"I'll tell him after I beat you."

"No need, I forfeit."

"No, Seto, I won't accept that! I want to beat you fair and square!"

"You already did. I'm forfeiting not because I want you to win, but because I won't be able to focus and play my regular game."

He pulled out a radio and pushed a button, "Mokuba."

"_Yes, Seto."_

"Announce that I forfeited the match and Ryou won."

"_What! Why, big brother!_"

"Something came up." He said before he turned to me, "Go on out, that way the official forfeit can be made."

I shook my head at the ceiling as I walked out to look around at all the people. A few seconds later a game official announced the forfeit, and I was escorted to the winners' lounge. It looked like some fancy party.

The main TV screen flickered to life and Mokuba's angry face came on the screen, "Ryou, what did you do to my brother!"

* * *

Hello. Review or I won't update. BTW, I need some ideas/inspiration for songs.

-Ara, Goddess of the Broken


	3. End of the Prelims

"I did nothing but tell him the truth. Then he told me he forfeited because what I had told him had made him lose his focus."

"Nothing could shake Seto that badly, what did you do!"

"Seto attempted to confront me about coming here with Yugi, and then I countered him telling him the truth: that your big brother had failed the boy who had saved you two so many times. Seto was the only one who could have made a difference, and he let Yugi down, though Yugi doesn't see it that way. I do. I am surprised he's still so light-hearted after what we let them do to him!"

Mokuba shrank back into the chair, slightly dazed before he asked, "And what does he think?"

"Come down here and I'll give you something that will be worth more than my word."

"No, come up here. The guards will escort you up."

A few minutes later, I found myself in a large video room.

"What do you have that will be proof of his true feelings?"

"This." I pulled out the CD I had made of Yugi's song once we had it recorded and handed it to him. He put it into a disk drive, of many on the beast of a machine in front of him. A music file came up and began to play. It was Yugi's song. My heart nearly broke as I listened to it, and a third of the way through I saw Mokuba break down in tears. Then we came to the part where I had remixed it, the part before the last verse.

"Lost... lost...lost..."

His voice was echoed,

"Lost in cold illusions...lusions...lusions..."

Then there were quotes of all the things he'd done and then I voiced some of the quotes I and his other friends had said as he fell. They were softer and sounded like they were being broadcast over a radio.

"_He's dropping out?"_

"_He tried to kill himself!"_

"Lost...lost...lost... lost in cold illusions...lusions...lusions..."

"_They're making him do what?"_

"_Poor Yugi!"_

"_How can we let them do this to them?"_

Now my voice was clear, but cold and hard.

"_No one can help him right now... no, no one _will_ help him!"_

Then it went into the last verse and finally ended. As the song file ended, Mokuba copied the song to a private computer file and then gave me the disk back.

"Tell him I'm sorry." That was all Mokuba could say before I left.

I went down into the lounge and saw a few others had shown up, but only one person I knew was there, and they walked right up to me and slapped me across the face.

"Nice to see you, too, Anzu." I mumbled as I rubbed my cheek. That hurt, but it felt kinda good, knowing that I'd hurt them enough for her to want to hurt me.

"How the hell could you leave like that! Do you have any idea what you did to Bakura, you heartless bastard!"

"You're one to talk, bitch." I said coldly before I walked away. She grabbed me by the collar and threw me to the ground, attracting attention.

"You left your yami!" She snapped, "You left him; you abandoned him!"

"He had abandoned me long before I left."

"What are you talking about? You were one of us! We treated you that way!" She held we up by the collar of my jacket. I narrowed my eyes before I punched her in the chest, knocking her back and releasing me. I stood above her.

"If you treat each other with such physical and mental abuse, then I didn't want to be one of you. I was nothing more than your slave, and I left so I could have my freedom!"

"Yeah, right, twerp! You wanted to hurt your yami-" She tried to punch me, but someone grabbed her fist and stepped in front of me. It was Bakura.

"Never try hurt my hikari again, Anzu." He hissed before twisting her arm and then letting go, making her fall to the ground.

"I don't need your protection, and she was right in a way." I said as I moved around them towards another section of the room as more people began to come in, "I left, and I did so in the way that would be most painful for the group. I left like Yugi did, ripping open those old wounds that you're gonna rip open all over again today." I straightened my jacket, "Nice to see you again."

I found my way over to Ara, who had just arrived, "What was that all about?"

"History repeats itself, I guess. I shouldn't have come, I'm just causing everyone pain."

"No, if you hadn't come, Yugi wouldn't have either. He needs to be here, and he needs you for support."

"Thanks, Ara." I said before I went over to the bar and got a drink.

* * *

My duel was cake, as Tiana had said it would be. I was escorted to the winners' lounge, others joining up with me as we walked, one of which was –

"Honda..." I breathed in amazement.

"How did you know my name?"

"If you haven't recognized me by now, I see no reason to give you my name." I smirked, "So, how was your match with Tatiana?"

"She passed out halfway through the duel, I won by default."

"She did what!"

"They were wheeling her out on a stretcher as I left."

I heard my ring and instantly looked down. I was surprised my cell phone had a signal in this place.

"Cell phone off, sir."

"Sorry." I hit the off button and hoped that the call wasn't important. I had a feeling it was, though.

We entered the lounge and I found my friends.

"Tatiana passed out during her duel." I said softly.

"What?"

"No way! How did you know?"

"Because her opponent told me on the way here."

"Honda didn't recognize you?"

"It appears not. So, how much of the old gang is in here?"

"Everyone but Yami and Seto beat their opponent already, and Seto would have if he hadn't forfeited before the start of the match."

"Ryou, what did you say?" My face paled.

"I told him what I thought was the truth, and he was so rattled that he said he couldn't duel."

"Ryou!" I exclaimed.

"Hey, he tried to corner me by telling me he knew you came with me, so I couldn't help myself! Anyway, Anzu still hates me and Bakura is acting like he wants to make up."

"I wonder how genuine that is." I got up, "I'm gonna go get a drink, need one, Ara?"

"I'll have sake." Ara sighed.

"Right." I nodded and left. I walked through the room and wove though the crowd to the bar, 'accidentally' bumping Honda in passing.

"Hey!"

"Oh, sorry, Honda." I said quickly as I tried to move along. Bakura and Jou turned to stare at me, looking awed.

"What?"

"Okay, so I'm not the only one who thinks he's familiar."

I rolled my eyes and turned to the bar to order myself a shot of whiskey and Ara's sake.

"Hey, we aren't finished!" Jou snapped

"You never were." I retorted, not bothering to look at them.

"Hey, look at me when I'm talking to you!"

"Make that a double-shot." I told the bartender before I turned to look at him.

"Who are you?"

"For someone who used to know me so well, you sure do forget fast." I said as they handed me my drinks. I got up and turned to leave.

"Wait." Bakura said, putting a hand on my shoulder.

"No, we were both done waiting long ago, Bakura. I think you've already seen that." I put on my old innocent face, and Bakura gasped, hand flying up to his mouth.

"Oh, Ra!"

I quickly wove back to my friends and gave my girlfriend her sake before I sipped my whiskey. That took the edge off.

"So, what'd you find out?"

"They don't recognize me, or at least, they didn't. Bakura figured out right before I left."

"Well, be thankful the last of the winners are showing up, they don't have time to find us." Ryou gestured towards the door with his head. I turned and my eye widened.

"Yami..."

There he was, looking like always had. I saw my former duel disk on his arm and I couldn't help but glare daggers at him.

The screen flickered to life and I saw Mokuba's emotionless face there. That only happened when something had really shaken him.

"You may now proceed to your second match. The guards will escort you to them."

The screen flickered and a list of duels showed up. I quickly found my name and smirked. I was up against Jonouchi. Yami was up against Ara, which made me worry, as did Ryou going up against Anzu. The list only had pictures, no names, so Jou didn't know my name from that. He was probably told my name by Bakura, assuming Bakura didn't pass out from the shock.

He and I were escorted to the match, and while we did so he tried to get a name out of me.

"Who are you, and how do you know me and my friends?"

I looked at him surprised, "Bakura didn't tell you?"

"He was too shocked to talk."

"I'll tell you if you win the duel - actually, I'll have to tell you either way, since I'm gonna kick your ass like I did so long ago!" I smirked and walked into the arena. This one was smaller, and it looked like a forest. I got out my deck and handed it to him before I took his to shuffle. He and I retreated to our proper places as they flipped a coin. He went first. We each drew five cards.

"Let's Duel!"

TBC (I jest. Sarah, this is your reward for waiting patiently, that and the end of the post) MOVING ALONG

(okay, since I'm still kind of new to the whole duel system, I was only introduced to Duel Monsters recently, and I'm still trying to get a good grip on things. I'm only writing the ending, because that's when Yugi gets desperate and by some miracle of fate (Heart of the cards, (snort) YEAH RIGHT! I call it luck) he draws the card Chris gave him. I'm writing the fireworks here, folks, not what led up to them. Jou has 2550 life points left. Yugi only has 600)

I narrowed my eyes as yet another one of my monsters was shot down by his 'Mad Dog of Darkness' which was equipped with 'Black Pendant'. He ended his turn and I drew a card, praying that it was something I could use to get rid of his monster.

I had kept my Pot of Greed card for emergencies, and I would probably need to use it this round. I also had 'Horus LV4', a 'Dark Hole' magic card, and 'Mystical Elf' in my hand. Jou had placed all his faith in a single monster.

"Game over, Jou, my faith in my deck has prevailed yet again."

"I'm surprised that you can talk so big when you're down and about to go out!" He snapped, "Why can't you just tell me your name!"

"I'll have told you by the end of this turn. The first card I'll play is 'Brain Jacker', and the only monster there is to control is your Mad Dog." The dog vanished and appeared on my side of the field, "Next, I summon Horus LV4 in attack mode. Now, Mad Dog, attack his life points directly!"

"That's low!" He exclaimed after the dog bit him on the leg, hard, gnawed on it, and then let go to come back to me.

"Jou, I remember the day you got that card, and I told you that you placed too much faith in it when I dueled you with it. You place your faith in one monster and that's your weakness. You play favorites with the cards in your deck."

"Like you would know!"

"Yes, I would know, and I did know!"

"Who the hell are you?"

I glared at him and then I closed my eyes as I shook my head.

"I had rather hoped you would have figured it out already, Jonouchi, but I guess that Honda was right. You DO forget anything inconvenient really quickly!"

"WHO THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU ARE!" He barked, "I'm more sensitive than that, you little-"

"Since I've already won, I may as well tell you." I took a tape player out of my pocket and there it over to him.

"Is this some kind of joke?" He chuckled as he plugged in a set of headphones.

"It's a recording of one of my songs, Jou. Play it."

He turned up the volume and kept the headphone around his neck, and I could hear myself singing.

"I must escape this hellish life,  
Wake up from dreams of this cruel strife.  
I pack my things; leave what I know.  
Take off the puzzle; let it go!" 

"Oh, shit..." His face paled as he looked up at me, "You..." His voice was barely audible.

"Pile up the things from long ago,  
Back when we wouldn't let go.  
Never give up, and never stop!  
But you did, you all gave up!" 

The drums and guitar blared as I now practically belted out the words.

"You took my power, gave me pain,  
Made me live a life of shame!  
I take a match; that flickering light,Hid all the memories of this strife!"

Jou had the sense to shut it off before he fell to the ground on all fours and threw up. He then looked up at me with eyes filled with awe and regret as he stood back up.

"Yug..."

I ignored him, as he had ignored me, and quietly ordered my dragon to attack.

"Horus, destroy him."

"YUG!" He shouted, his voice cracking as the full brunt of his regret, anger, and bitter sorrow came to surface as a great ball of flames came at him. The fireball left Jou smoking as he fell to his knees.

"Yugi, I'm so sorry..." He breathed as he looked up at me as the field cleared and the scoreboard above us showed Jou's life points at zero. I won.

"I used to duel with you every day to help you build up a strong deck and discover good strategies, Jonouchi, only after this loss, I'm not gonna help you fix your deck." I then turned and walked towards the exit.

"When you see Yami, tell him I said 'hello'." I said over my shoulder with a cool voice.

"You sound like Kaiba."

I turned around to face him, "I probably do, because I feel like he used to when I'm around you. There are no friends, there are acquaintances, and there are opponents. But that's only when you and the others are around. When I moved here, I made friends, real friends, friends who I could trust and depend on. With you, Honda, Anzu, and everyone else, there were always so many secrets. I felt left out. I felt like a pawn in your games. As many times as we've all saved each other, nothing changed. You all still kept secrets from me. So I now have a secret I'm not telling anyone unless they find on they're own. My name is Yugi Mutou."

I then allowed myself to be escorted back to the winners' lounge. Unfortunately, none of my friends had made it here yet, but some of the old gang had, and when they saw me, they were amazed.

"You beat Jou!" Malik asked in awe.

"That's amazing."

"Not really, he relied on a single monster and that allowed me to beat him."

"That's Jonouchi, for you." Bakura sighed from the bar. He looked drunk, "Hey, come over here for a second."

I ordered another shot of whiskey before turning to the drunk albino.

"Yes?"

"Yugi, why don't you just tell them who you are?"

"Why don't you, tomb raider?" I snapped, "I'm frankly surprised you're leaving me the honor of telling my old captors I'm the person who nearly burnt their house- no, my house, since it is mine, or was, until I ran away and it went to Yami."

"So you were the one who did that? We just thought you had managed to escape once the fire started since your room was burned pretty badly, or that you had burnt up in the fire. You looked good for someone who's been dead for a year." He laughed, slapping me on the back.

I downed my whiskey in one gulp and then coughed.

"So, how is my old lover doing?"

"Why didn't you ask yourself?" I asked calmly.

"He was too cold to me. Doesn't he realize I love him?"

"You and the others abused him like you had abused me for Ra knows how long; I doubt he thinks your feelings are genuine. He probably thinks you just want him back to entertain yourself again."

Bakura looked like I'd pulled out his heart and mixed it into a drink.

"If you loved him so much then why did you do that stuff?"

"I did it because if I didn't then I would be separated from Ryou, and then they might kill him. I was heartbroken when he ran away, but I knew it was for the better."

In any event, I saw Yami walk up to Bakura, ignoring me completely and ask, "Where is everyone?"

"I beat Jou, I'm pretty sure that Ryou is going to kick Anzu's ass." I said as I asked for another shot.

"And just who the hell are you? Have we met before?"

"Your drink, sir." The bartender handed me the shot glass and I got up as I took it. I looked into my Yami's eyes and said in a cold voice.

"Yeah, and I will forever rue that day, the accursed day that I met you. Another event caused by the tomb raider over here. Damn you for it." I then turned and walked off.

"I would say that, too, after what he went through." Bakura said drunkenly as I left.

"What?"

"You didn't recognize him! Is everyone else blind?"

"Bakura, who is he?"

"I leave that honor to him, I don't want to be near you when he tells you."

"Bakura, tell me or I'll-"

"Congratulations, you all have made it past the preliminary rounds. Now is when the real duels begin. The following contestants shall be escorted to their matches while the rest watch and await their turn."

They put up the pictures of me, three nerds I didn't know, Ryou, Bakura, and -

"Oh, no..." I groaned. I was now up against yet another old friend- Marik.

We approached the arena and shuffled each other's deck before the coin flip went my way.

"You have the advantage, all the better. I am finally going to have my revenge against you, Yugi. I must admit, you've changed, but you're going to regret the day you ran away."

"Not as much as you're gonna regret hurting me." I replied with equal venom in my voice, "Now let's duel!"

* * *

(I'm going to skip over the matches yet again. After these matches, the players are escorted to a large hall where a table is set for them to eat. There are now only 32 players left. Of the people that we know, Yugi, Bakura, Ryou, Yami, Malik, Mai, and Keith are the only ones left in this tournament. Ryou and Yugi are seated near the head of the table, on either side of Mokuba. At the other end, the original gang is seated close to Seto, who finally spills the beans on Yugi.) 

"So, Mokuba, how have you been since we left?"

"I've been thankful to steer clear of the old gang, I have no desire to go through the suffering you two did. I'm sorry I couldn't help you two."

"There was nothing you could have done, Mokuba. I was never mad at you. You and Ryou are the only two who wanted to help me, and ventured to try. Even if you were shot down, you helped make me feel a little better."

"I still can't believe you two are this well off now!"

"Neither can we, but we are."

"I miss your old hair cut, but this suits you, too."

"I'm thinking of getting it cut." I said as I looked at the black tangles flowing down to my shoulders, with gold and red streaks adding a certain rebellious flair to it.

"No way! Ara loves your haircut! Besides, it looks cute this way. Trim it, maybe, but don't change it back."

"I meant just trim it, I'm gonna get a couple inches off. I wouldn't change my hair back; it gives me too many memories of the old days."

"I understand." Mokuba said as he polished off him food and pushed his chair back before he said, "Come with me, I want to talk to you in private."

We finished eating quickly and left with him. He led us up to –

"Mokuba, why'd you take us back up here?"

"You came up here earlier?"

"Yeah, to give Mokuba a copy of your song."

"I hope Seto hasn't heard it." I looked at them both expectantly.

"Not yet, but believe me, by the end of the tournament, he will have. That's not why I brought you up here." Mokuba's hands flew over the keyboard. In the main screen was live feed of the dining room.

"What about it?"

He typed another command. A box appeared around the end of the table opposite where we had been sitting, and then it zoomed and focused.

"This..." He pointed. I noticed who the people were. It was what was left of the gang and Seto. Seto had a paper lying face down next to him, and he slid it over to Yami, who's back was to the camera. He picked up and looked at it.

"Pause and zoom in, Mokuba." I ordered as I stepped forward. The camera focused and I paled. The typed info was to blurry to make out, but I recognized the pictures on it.

"Seto, you cold-hearted-"

"Hey, watch the way you talk about my brother-"

"Do you realize what's on that paper!" I retorted.

"Huh?" He looked carefully at the pictures and shrugged. "It's your tournament files. What's the big deal?"

"I had met the group already, only Bakura knew who I was. I told Jou and Marik as I dueled them because they never figured it out."

"So he just told them who's been screwing with them?"

"And even worse, we'll have to go up against them in the final rounds."

"Yeah, we get to meet up in front of thousands- no, _millions_ of viewers."

"Bring up the scoreboard for the tournament."

A web that had everyone's matches set up appeared. I looked at the duel sheets and sighed in relief.

"We don't have to face them for a while yet."

"You might."

"What do you mean?"

He began to type in commands and the chart divided into two sections.

"These duels take place tomorrow morning." He highlighted the first three rounds of duels.

"Up until the final match!"

"Yeah. These take place tomorrow afternoon." He highlighted the first three rounds on the other half, the half I was in.

"The final match takes place tomorrow night."

"I don't face Yami until then." He and I were in different halves.

"Yeah, but I face Bakura tomorrow morning! And Yami!"

"Yes, but you miss dueling with Mai and Malik." Mokuba commented, his voice monotone.

"My second duel's with Keith, in the afternoon." I said, equal blandness in my voice.

"Kick his ass for me!"

"Why?"

"Because that creep beat me up two weeks ago!"

"You didn't tell Seto?"

"No, he was too busy preparing for this tournament, of course I wasn't gonna bother him. I just hung out at our house a bit more often since I was sore and had limited mobility."

"And he didn't notice?"

"He wasn't home for a week and a half of it, I didn't really see him much, and it didn't matter, if worst came to worst, I would have told my brother right before he had a duel with him."

"Added fuel to his fire, nice strategy. Well, I'll get him for you, Mokuba, don't worry. And thanks for warning us."

"Not soon enough, I'm afraid." Ryou said, staring behind me, his crème-white face paling with each passing moment, before the color was replaced by fury.

"Huh?" I turned and saw the gang assembled there in front of us, Seto in the back looking a little uncomfortable.

"Seto, if you don't feel comfortable, then do something about it." I said as I crossed my arms and gave a cold glare at everyone.

"Hey, leave me out of this! I had nothing to do with this little meeting."

"Brother, don't lie to me!" Mokuba entered a command and we saw the clip of him giving Yami our files, "You are the reason they couldn't find out on their own. At least we can give Bakura credit for recognizing Yugi! Well, since you're here, you might as well hear it-"

"No." I said coldly as I started into the crimson eyes of my yami. I saw nothing there, just cold darkness. Had he really become that cold after I left? At least when I was still there he had a little mercy and kindness in him.

"What?"

"Why not?"

"I'll let them hear it tomorrow. Everyone can hear it tomorrow. For right now, all I want to be heard are words."

"Why did you two leave?"

"Why did you beat your hikari?"

He faltered for a second. He couldn't answer that here.

"Why did you, Bakura?" Ryou asked.

He was too torn to speak. He was mute.

"Hey, leave Bakura alone! Do you have any idea what you did to them when you left!" Jou snapped.

"What're you doing here, Jou, I kicked your ass in the prelims. Besides, it's nothing compared to what you did to me." I said as I made my way to the door, "Mokuba, what is everyone doing now?"

"Everyone's in their rooms, as you all should be."

"I'll take them there after we finish this."

"I don't want to spend eternity here, Yami." I stepped forward and gave him a icy glare, loaded with sharp projectiles, "_'I'm not done with you.'_" I mocked him, "Well, I am... for the moment, anyways. We'll settle this tomorrow."

"I look forward to beating you with your own deck."

"That's not my deck anymore. Those cards are loyal to a heartless bastard, and I have no use for them. I have a new deck, a deck I can trust." I took out my deck and held it up to them before putting it back, "I look forward to putting them in their place."

"No one insults my deck and gets away with it!"

"I think I just did. Let's go, you guys, we've got better things to do than this."

With that, we walked out another door and briskly went to the room Ryou and I shared.

"I don't see what made them turn."

"Well, they'll get an earful tomorrow, or so I hope. Mokuba, I know you could get in big trouble for this, but would you do something for us?"

TBC

* * *

AN: I own nothing, get over it. If I owned it, I would never had let 4Kids get their evil hands upon yu-gi-oh and let them turn it into a ing LITTLE KIDS' SHOW! It used to be respectable, but now, I can't even read the manga, the GOOD Yu-Gi-Oh, in public, unless it's in Shonen Jump magazine! By the way, sarah/ryoulover4ever, I highly value my reviewers, so, for patiently putting up with me, I give you (eighteen wheeler pulls up, the back doors open up, and sandy and sugar pours out) your sugar. Feel free to bounce off the walls while you continue reading. Feel free to email me if you want another preview, the next Chappie is ready and waiting. (Claws reveals herself, as does Taladin and Yami Mirei, who glare daggers at her.) I shouldn't have said that. 

RUNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!

(Angry reviewers run after her with reviews telling her to hurry her ass up and post)

REVIEW!

-Ara, Goddess of the Broken


	4. Back to the Past

AN: Again with the basics, I own naught, see my statement in chapter three for if I had owned it, and Sarah, here is your chapter, and I greatly appreciated the loving review. That made my day, which up until then had been horrible. This chapter is for you, and email me if you want to see what happens next. Oh, by the way, another one of my songs in here, it's 'Back to the Past'. Very well, on with my fic.

* * *

All morning Seto and I watched the matches carry out in silence. We had nothing to say to each other at the moment, or so I thought. 

"I'm sorry." He said softly after a while.

"You're ... what?" I looked up at him confused.

"You were right. I'm the reason they couldn't figure it out on their own. I want to make it up to him."

"Yugi thought you might come around, so he made one request for the match he had with Yami tonight."

"Anything."

"During the match, towards the end, Yugi is going to give me a cue to play the song Ryou gave me- it's the song he wrote after he left. He wants it to 'accidentally' be played."

"Under one condition, I'll do it. Let me hear it now."

"Fine." I opened the file and double-clicked the song. I couldn't help but cry during it, and I felt wet drops on the top of my hair. Seto was leaning on the back of my chair, slumped over, and he was-

I couldn't help but restrain an awe-filled gasp, even if it was quieted for fear of him noticing and putting on his poker face. The file ended and I closed it.

"Ryou told me the truth... he was right, Yugi should hate us... he has every right to. Mokuba, keep an eye on things up here, I'm going to go talk to the others."

"Seto, the deal was they couldn't hear it before the duel!"

"They won't hear it, any of it. I'm not speaking to them until after tonight if they're lucky. I'm going and talking to Yugi."

"Good luck." I muttered after he shut the door behind him.

* * *

I heard a someone ringing me from the comm at the door. I hesitantly peeked at the caller, knowing full well that they could have found my room. It was Kaiba, and he looked- 

"What the-?" I gasped in awe, "Is he actually... no way, he couldn't be... Is Kaiba _crying_!" I pressed a button to talk.

"Kaiba, what's wrong?"

"I was." He moaned as he quickly turned away from the camera and wiped away the tear that had fallen. He had a reputation, after all.

I opened the door and allowed him in, "What do you mean?"

"I was the only person who had enough influence to stop what was going on, but I ignored it. I ignored you, Yugi, and because of me, so much has gone so horribly wrong!"

"Seto, stop speaking nonsense! You didn't really see just how bad things were!"

"Yes, I did. Mokuba told me what was happening several times, but with Kaiba Corp, I didn't really attention."

"Not, he couldn't tell you everything, because not everyone even knew what Yami was doing!" I said as I rolled up my sleeves and showed him my wrists. The skin was marred with slashes and cuts.

Seto's eyes grew wide, "Oh damn..."

"I tried to commit suicide maybe once every two or three days. Many of the scars have been reopened several times. Yam would always wait until I was about to die before he would heal me, and then he would beat me, and heal me again. When he threw me back in my cell, he would yank me up by the hair, and then whisper in my ear. 'I'm not done with you.' That's what he'd say. Well, I was done with him, so I moved on, using whatever means required for my escape."

"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry... Dammit, I should have seen it, I should have known that once the yamis had bodies that the hikaris would suffer."

"Malik's lucky, he and his yami seem to get along fine."

"Well, I look forward to watching you kick their asses tomorrow, Yugi." Seto said as he made himself presentable again, blotting a wet rag over his eyes to reduce the redness and swelling.

"I'll give them hell for you." I put my hand on his shoulder.

* * *

"Hikari..." 

"Oh, stop saying that!" I snapped as I handed back his deck.

"B-but you're my hikari-"

"Would you really watch idly as your so-called friends tortured and abused your precious hikari?"

"They told me they'd separate us if I got in the way!" He sobbed, "I couldn't stand the though of losing you!"

"Shut up and play."

"No."

"What?"

"I pass. I refuse to play until you hear me out."

"Fine, then I'll set a trap, summon a Giant Soldier of Stone, and play Dian Keto to bring me up to 2700 LP. Your move."

"I felt all the pain you felt, hikari. A yami always feels the pain of their hikari-"

"Then why the hell did Yami hurt Yugi!" I shouted at him, "Why did that bastard let his hikari almost bleed to death every other night and then beat him after he healed his wounds. Yugi still cries some nights from remembering him."

"He embraced the pain after a while, and because of the lies planted in his head, he thought that feeling the pain was a just price for watching his 'traitorous' hikari cry out in pain."

This made me look up and make eye contact, "Tomb raider, what did she tell him?"

"That Yugi had been cheating him out, him and all his friends."

My knees buckled, I fell to my knees, "Then it was all a lie. Who did it, Bakura?"

"Anzu... Anzu did it so that she could have Yami. She was jealous of Yugi, so she lied to Yami to tear them apart."

So it was a lie... that changed everything. My feeling betrayed what my mind had once thought. I looked at Bakura with longing in my eyes again. Oh Ra, what am I thinking? I'm longing to be in the arms of the very man who beat me! His hand was forced, he didn't want to hurt me.

"I'll kill that bitch..." I growled, "Now, play."

"I forfeit, my hikari-"

"No, I want to beat you fair and square. Please, for me, Yami Bakura. Play."

"Very well, Ryou. I'll play for you."

A smile lit up my face for the first time all day. This wasn't a battle over our titles, for we both knew that we would forfeit the next round against Yami Yugi anyway. This was a casual duel to see how much we had both grown in our time apart. As expected, I won because I had been learning from Yugi, Chris, and Tatiana. Bakura, hadn't really dueled with anyone outside the gang, so he hadn't gained much experience. As we were escorted off the field, I told them that I forfeited the tournament, so I could leave with Bakura and catch up.

* * *

After yet another day of dueling and occasionally exchanging insults with my enemies, the moment had finally come. I was standing in the tunnel hat led to the arena in which our final duel was going to be played. I looked through my deck and said softly, "Well, my friends, the time has come to see which is stronger, the darkness or the light. Help me defeat the monster who has hurt me for too long." 

Having said that, I felt better. I took a deep breath, wiped the sweat off my forehead, and listened to the cheering crowd roar even louder. Yami had arrived, and it was time to face him. I ascended the stairs and ventured up into the crowd with a determined look on my face.

"Well, well, you showed up after all, my little hikari-"

"Don't call me that. You're not me, in any way! You're a cold, heartless, bastard who beat the person he swore to protect for three years before they ran off! I was so sick of you and everyone else hurting me, and making me clean up after them!" I said as we walked forward, adding so only he could hear, "I can't believe I shared a body with you once, I feel violated. Well, tonight I can finally move on."

"You're still the child I met all those years ago."

"You're still the bastard who nearly killed me over a thousand times, now if you please, let's duel."

"Yes, let's. I look forward to destroying you."

As we dueled, each move was no surprise, his strategy had not changed much, therefore it was easy to counter it. What was harder to combat was his insults.

"For a kid who died in a fire last year, you look pretty well."

"For a five thousand year old spirit, not doing bad yourself. So, how are things going? How much money have you taken out of my accounts and Ryou's savings?"

"They're empty."

"Okay, I've established I'm dealing with the real deal. So, who're you sucking dough out of now?"

"Various sources I'm not disclosing here."

"Good answer. So, who's getting kicked around now that we're gone?"

"No one."

"Mokuba left? Bakura left?"

"What are you talking about? Why would that lousy tomb robber ever leave?"

"To be with his lover, his hikari. In fact, why don't I call Ryou and see where they are. Thousand yen says they're at a bar or his place, catching up."

"No way Bakura would still fall for that weakling albino..."

"Whatever..."

"So, why'd you try to burn down your grandfather's shop?"

"Okay, that's low!" I snapped at him, "It's not grandpa's shop anymore, after you and the others closed it! The shop had already been destroyed, and the only things I did was set fire to the puzzle and the pictures of the group with me."

"I find that hard to believe."

I looked up and to my right, where Seto and Mokuba were watching.

"I think it's time I let everyone hear something. Mokuba!" I gestured to him.

He nodded and the piano and soft guitar was broadcast over the speakers, filling the entire building with song. I then looked at him.

"Just listen, Atem. Just hear me..." I said, a single tear rolling down my cheek as I backed up and leaned against something for support. Then I realized. This wasn't the song I'd told Mokuba to play. I looked up at the booth and saw Ryou talking to the Kaiba brothers.

"Why did they change the tune?" I whispered.

"I look back on those bright days,

Days with my light, days without shame,

Just days of flight, not days of pain!

When we had never thought it'd stop,

We were so close, and so, so wrong,

We're never alone, and so, so strong.

Now let me back,

Back to those times,

When all that was,

Wasn't just 'Truth and Lies'!

Return to that,

Yes, there I'd stay.

Content with life,

That was our way.

Back to the past, back to the day!

Back to the light, our truth and way!

Back 'fore the lies, the hurt, the pain!

Back 'fore the anger came our way!

Yes, let's go back, and back to stay!

Before the lies send us all –

All away…

Saw the light first time tonight,

First time in years I've seen it right.

Away from fear, away from night,

Away from Hell, away from plight.

I saw 'em filled with that soft light,

Same as before, but not as bright.

Same old spark, same old pride,

Same old kindness, same old time.

Now let me back,

Back to those times,

When all that was,

Was not just pride!

Return to that,

and there I'd stay.

Blissful ignorance,

That was our way.

Back to the past, back to the day!

Back to the light, our truth and way!

Back 'fore the lies, the hurt, the pain!

Back 'fore the anger came our way!

Yes, let's go back, and back to stay!

Before the lies send us all –

All away…"

The video screens came to life and there was a girl sitting at a bar. Ara had played her. I played the guy who was walking up to the bar and sitting down next to her.

"_Bartender, one shot of scotch, please."_

" _Never imagined you'd turn out as a drunk."_

"_Make that a double... I never imagined you'd turn out the way you did either."_

There was a brief pause while the bartender gave her the glass.

"_So why'd you do it?"_

"_Do what?"_

"_Cheat on me."_

She laughed, _"What are you, on dope or something? I never cheated on you!"_

"_But-"_

"_Who told you that god-awful lie? Tina? Tina hated me, she was jealous of us. Trust her to finally break you!"_

"_So I..."_

"_What? You really thought I cheated on you? Oh my god, how untrusting can you be! I loved you, damn it! I still do. If only you felt the same way... Goodbye."_

She got up to leave, but he stopped her, grabbing her arm and turning her back to him.

"_I still do feel that way, Ara. Don't leave me again."_

"_So this can happen all over again?"_

"_It won't! I trust you! I love you! I'll love you to the end of time, just don't ever leave me!"_

"_Then come with me."_

"_Where?"_

"_I'm going back."_

He paused for a sec and then nodded to her, _"Let's go."_

The screen turned off, and I looked over to see Bakura and Ryou and, arms around each others shoulders. I then looked at my own yami. He was looking at me with something I hadn't expected. Hurt.

"We're back in the past, back in the day!

Back in the light, our truth and way!

Back fore the lies, 'fore the pain!

Back 'fore the anger came our way!

Yes, now we're back and back to stay!

And now the lies can't chase us all,

All away...

Returned to that,

Yes, here we'll stay.

Content with life,

That was our way..."

The song ended, and I looked over at him.

"Not the song I had intended, but-"

"That bitch! Why didn't I see this? How could I not tell she'd lied..." He muttered, running his hand through his hair.

I looked at him with disgust, "You're _joking_. You thought that I had the balls to cheat on the best man a guy could have. Apparently you assumed I had as little brains as you do, too- What were the hell you thinking!" I turned away, back towards the stairs, "I forfeit." I said, placing my hand on my deck before yanking it out as the contraption deactivated, "See you later, Atem."

"No, Yugi! Hikari, wait!" he yelled after me, but I didn't hear him as I ran. He could have hurt my body all he liked, but to have believed some lie, to have thought so little of me before all of this started, that hurt my heart.

My feet carried me out of the building and to the subway station, which I took back to my house. Once there, I double-locked and bolted the door behind me before I just slumped to the floor and cried. The exact reason why I was crying so many tears was unknown, but I assumed that all my pent-up sorrow finally beat down the dams and flooded my mind.

My heart was on fire, my head was nonfunctional, and my wrists were itchy. Extracting the switchblade he'd gotten after the first time someone tried to mug him after his move here, he relieved the itch, which helped soothe the burning. The brain was too far gone to employ any ways of stopping him from hurting himself further.

* * *

On a nearby street, running in front of white-haired doppelgangers, a odd-haired man with crimson eyes and a neglected regal air felt slashing, and then the unmistakable panic of his bond he had not felt in years. Running faster, if possible, he shook his head, "No... I'm not gonna let anyone harm you again, Hikari, not even yourself!"

To Be Continued

* * *

Push the button... 

You want to push it...

Do it, damn it! Review, Mirei needs to eat too!

-Ara, Goddess of the Broken


	5. Falling Star THE END

AN: No I am NOT dead. At least, not yet, but give me another few months and my current personal habits, and you may be onto something. I originally wrote the ending to this fic, and the next two chapters of my other fic 'Whirlwind', but then I lost the USB key I'd kept them on, and I didn't want to rewrite them. I now realize that as a writer, I have to suck it up for my readers and do it, so, I shall, and I shall include another of my songs. If you'd like to see my others for possible use in a fic (or possibly have me write one for you, I'd enjoy a challenge, being a lyricist/songwriter is quite fun once you get it down), private message or email me. Time for things to come full circle, and I'm sorry to say, it might not be a pretty circle… character death. Not who you'd expect, though, so just be on your toes. There are several more close calls as well.

Mirei: YAYYYYYYY, ARA'S BAAAAAAAAAAAACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So mature, Mirei… oh wait, never mind, you can't be mature, you live next to my inner child in the sanctum.

Yami: How dare you leave us all hanging while my precious hikari kills himself!

Yugi: How dare you have me kill myself! You-

Zip it, midgets!

Yami and Yugi::smoking in rage:: WHAT WAS THAT?!!!- ::POOF – duo as chibis::

Mirei: Awww… ::scoops them up and begins babying them mercilessly:: SO CUTE!!!!

Chibi Yami and Chibi Yugi: Leggo! Leggo! Arwa, stop it! ARWA!!! PWEASE::tearing up, causing Mirei to go into overdrive in her obsessing::

I think Mirei deserves this after being deprived of attention, food, and life for so long… besides, this is what you get when you upset the authoress. Oh but I have one better. OH CLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! CHIBIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Chibi Yami and Chibi Yugi: No, not Cwaws!! Anee-ome but Cwaws!!

Claws: KAWAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII::appearing, takes Chibi yugi, begins tickling, teasing and cuddling him without stopping::

Chibi Yami: YUGI!!!!!

Chibi Yugi: I suwwender! I suwwender! Make it stoooooooooooooop!

That's one, but what about my other antagonizing chibi…

Chibi Yami: NEBER::surrounded by mobs of adoring fangirls all fighting to reach him and cuddle him within an inch of his afterlife:: Otay! Otay!! I giwe!!

Now promise to do the disclaimer.

Chibi Yami and Chibi Yugi: ARWA NO OWN YGO, JUST 'ER SONGS AN' OH-SEE'S AN' PLOT::POOF! – teens again, wearing only bondage pants and puzzles, mobbed by fangirls:: GAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My appeasement for being gone so long. Now that you ladies have had your piece…

::fangirls vanish, teens collapse, magic crackling around them::

Now what do you boys have to say for yourself?

Yugi: you're a twisted, evil, conniving little- ::POOF! Little crimson fairy in jar suspended above fangirl mob::

Yami: Turn him back, you fiend- ::POOF! Kid-sized Inu-Yami with ears, claws and tail, in cage below Yugi:: I take it back! I TAKE IT BAAAAACK!!!!!! I'M SORRY!!!!!!!!

Yugi:: muffled:: So do I!! I'M SORRY!

::POOF! Fangirls back, Inu-Yami and Human-sized Fairy Yugi::

Yami and Yugi: What?! …but we apologized!

So what? You're staying like that to make a point to the others. Be thankful I'm just keeping Mirei and Claws away.

Yami and Yugi::roll eyes, sarcastic:: Oh, you're so merciful… ::magic crackles around them:: You're the most merciful goddess we know.

Yeah, right, I'm the only goddess you know… Now, on with the story.

OH! And if you're an Anzu fan, you'll hate this, or at least, part of it.

1234567890-0987654321

Yami approached the hose, and rammed the door, only to feel a faint ache in his back. Yugi was right behind it, then… but how would her get to him? He looked at the kitchen window a moment.

"Reinforced glass, all the windows are. The locks are all magic-proof, too, so don't bother." Ryou supplied to earn him glares, "What? We did it because we feared you two would hunt us down and come after us."

"Well, now it just made it a deathtrap! I can tell he dead bolted and the door, but isn't there a back door you've got the key to?" Yami reasoned desperately.

Ryou nodded, "Yeah, c'mon, follow me!" He darted off around the side of the house, darting into the narrow alleyway with two yamis in hot pursuit. He came to the back door and stuck his key in, unlocking it quickly and flinging open the door as Yami shoved past him inside, sending the hikari to the ground for Bakura to help up.

The pharaoh knew he hadn't much time, he was feeling lightheaded. Sliding into the front entryway, he yelped as his balance abandoned him and sent him to the floor. It took him all of three seconds to realize what he'd slipped on: blood. Looking to the door, he didn't fight the gasp at his hikari, still glaring daggers at him through half-glazed eyes before he went limp, switchblade still in his hand. Yami darted forward, blade embedding itself in the wall behind him as he tossed it away and then focused his shadow magic on healing his light, the light he'd finally realized how much he'd damaged by allowing himself to taint them both because of an outright lie. The shallow breathing slowed and Yami threw the puzzle back over the light's neck after praying to it to help it's rightful master. Golden light shone like a beacon before him for a few moments, only to falter and vanish to reveal a still hikari, wounds gone, but still bathed in his own blood and… not breathing.

"Oh Ra…" the Egyptian breathed, the look on his face indescribable. After a moment of shock, he pushed through it into action, shadow magic flaring around them both as he desperately fought to revive his light before the inevitable happened. He abandoned his body, whether by the force of the item forcing him back or his own accord, and darted into his light, forcing his very life energy into the corpse- no, he refused to believe that his light was truly gone yet!

'Dammit, Yugi, I lost you once because of my stupidity, I'll be _destroyed_ before I lose you again to my weakness!!' He bellowed through his collapsing bond, 'I'M NOT DONE LOVING YOU!!!'

The dark and crumbling soul room of his light flickered before the dark as he poured himself into the only thing he knew he had left to live for now. He finally had back the light and the love in his life he'd been missing for so long! It couldn't be gone for good now before he had a chance to make things right again for Yugi as the light had done for him. It just couldn't! Slumping down, in exhaustion and devastation, crimson eyes shut sadly, unable to cry in his constantly weakening state as he destroyed himself in what seemed a vain hope to help his light.

Shadows withered his transparent form into nothingness as he fell forward into unconsciousness, nothingness... Now all that was left was a crumbling room full of decaying toys, mocking the innocence that no longer walked the land of the living… until a light flickered into being, nearly extinguished by the shadows it had to contest with, but the light grew, and covered the room in the glow of life before two figures reappeared within its wake, the room dimly lit by it's remnants. Amethyst eyes blearily opened and looked around indifferently at his soul room. So he'd fallen back into it's sanctuary once again… wait, why was it so dim? He knew it grew dimmer when he wanted to fall asleep, but this was different. Why was it different though?

A low moan that was deeper than he knew himself capable of drifted through the room. Then it all flooded through him with a sickening dread. He'd looked death in the eye again… for the same reasons as the thousands of times before… but someone had tried to bust down the door; someone had come after him. Yami had come after him. What had happened next, though? Why was it all dark from there on in? He'd succeeded… he'd killed himself, he remembered being judged, only to have his feather ripped away from the scale and back into his body before he too was painfully dragged back into the realm of the living… he faintly remembered hearing something during that trip… 'I'm not done loving you…' Sitting bolt upright, he saw Yami a few feet away, unmoving, crimson eyes dulled as they stared into a realm unseen by all others.

"Oh gods… Yami." He gasped after a moment of stunned observance, rushing to him and trying to shake him awake. There was no reason to bother with a pulse, he'd been dead for centuries. He was cold as ice, and if Yugi pressed down too hard, his hands just went through the dark. Wait! Why did he care? This was the person who'd beaten him within an inch of his life more times than he cared to count! Why shouldn't he be aloud to fade away into nothingness?! Because he saved him... Yami gave himself up to keep Yugi from fading. He knew he had a debt to the dark, and as much as he hated that, it meant he still had to help him. Yugi set his hand once more upon the dark, one hand on his chest and the other his forehead. Then he closed his eyes, and pushed his energy back into the dark, who he knew had given it to him in the first place. He found himself pushing down harder but still not going through him, a sign that he was indeed coming back, slowly. Then he felt it. Had it been before he ran that night, before he came into himself his a job requiring skill and hobbies requiring attention to detail, it would've escaped him. The slightest shudder... and then the boy felt the exertion of his task overwhelm him, forcing him to stop as he fell forward onto the spirit.

Now, this could go on forever, the whole pushing the same energy back and forth between light and dark, but someone decided to take pity upon them both and end it. A golden glow covered the duo and pulled them apart, yanking Yami out the door back to the puzzle and Yugi into bed. Both weakly protested, but were forced to give up out of sheer exhaustion. The golden aura covering them both as they lay in their separate beds, forced into a energy-conservative sleep, slowly seeped in, leaving only one mark that either had ever been touched by it: three golden flecks in each iris, almost touching in a triangle. Then both were left, in perfect health and life force, to sleep the soreness and exhaustion of the last few minutes off. Amazing how fast things can happen, no?

* * *

Yami was the first to awaken, and immediately his first thoughts were: 'why am I in my soul room', 'why am I so sore', and 'what happened last night'. Then it hit him like lightning, he'd failed to save Yugi! But then how... how was he not chained up in the heart of the puzzle? And why did he feel so energetic? Throwing open the door to the hallway, he saw Yugi's soul room still there, looking as it always had. Taking the handle hesitantly, he braced himself for the worst and opened the door. He wasn't prepared for what he saw, though. Yugi was sleeping soundly on the bed, moving around every so often and pulling his blankets over his head to keep the light out. He was okay...

Yami was stunned speechless, which was great, considering if his light had been dragged from his dreams right now, he'd be peeved, to say the least. The dark stumbled forward, avoiding toys strewn about the place, and came to the foot of the bed, sitting on it while just staring at his light with eyes unfit for the occasion. They'd had a miracle, they'd both been saved, and they were both fine. He should be screaming for joy! Why was he looking the light over with sad eyes? Because he didn't deserve him... not after all the shit he'd put him through since he got his body and Anzu starting feeding him those lies. Speaking of that little bitch, it was time to go pay her a visit... Yami took one last look at his light, and then ported himself out of the room and back into his own body. Waking, he looked up at two pairs of eyes, one chocolate and one obsidian.

"Yami, you're okay!" Ryou exclaimed, "What happened? Is Yugi okay? Why isn't he waking up?"

"Hikari, calm down, there'll be plenty of time for questions in a minute." The dark laughed before sobering up at Yami's eyes, "Nice eyes, pharaoh, as if enough of you wasn't gold already."

"What?" Yami shot the dark a look of confusion before seeing the mirror to his right and turning to see himself in it. His eyes were still that lovely shade of crimson, but three gold specks still shone brightly within them. Analyzing them for a moment, he then looked down at the puzzle and smiled, "So that's who saved us..."

"Yami." Bakura's toe indicated exactly wht he wante,d and the pharaoh turned to the white-haired light easily.

"I'll tell you once Yugi wakes up. He's sleeping in his soul room, he is fine. He will wake when he is ready to. I need you to watch him a moment while Bakura and I tend to something." The young man was already halfway to the door, the thief king hot on his heels. Outside in the hallway were Jou, Seto, and Mokuba. Yami merely nodded to them before walking past, eyes set. The duo headed outside past the magical wards to vanish into the shadows. They appeared in a pink room decorated liberally with dance decorations and pictures of a brunette with the lightning-haired dark. On the bed, sleeping, was the witch herself, a dark smile on her face at her dream.

Standing at the foot of her bed, Yami nodded to Bakura, who slapped her awake roughly. "Dammit, thief, that hurt! What the hell was that for?"

"Your obliviousness to your situation is pathetic, bitch, and don't you dare try pulling the innocent card with us." Yami's tone told her everything she needed to know: the jig was up, and there wouldn't be a force in existence to keep her from paying the price of it.

The albino smirked at this: he knew this was going to get exceedingly fun, if not messy, "To think, one lie is going to keep you from those dreams of dancing in the spotlight... I think you can kiss your future goodbye."

"You can't kill me..." She breathed shakily, "If you do, they'll lock you up; you'll never see those little brats again. Good riddance..."

"That's where you're wrong, Anzu. I won't kill you. I don't need to deal with covering it up, even though they'd never find a hair, much less the body." He smirked, "I have much simpler ways of dealing with people like you. First things first, though..."

The puzzle flashed before the room melted away into the darkness, leaving Anzu to fall on her ass as her bed vanished below her. Fear in her eyes, the girl backed away, only to find her legs frozen in place. The puzzle glowed once more, and Anzu felt herself weakening as a sickly fuchsia light flew out from her into the air between her and Yami, the light widening and fading away to reveal what looked like a princess wreathed in evil, former beauty twisted in horrifying hideousness. Bakura drew a black card and sealed it into that, the title given I the card as 'Anzu, Maid of Deceit'. The card then burst into black flames in his hand, leaving a ghost of the soul monster to fade into the abyss before Anzu's eyes.

"That was to ensure you would never use magic again, nor would the gift of luck ever fall to you. Your soul monster took that ability away with it's destruction. Now to deal with the rest of you."

"You don't mean that, do you, Yami?" She pleaded vainly, scurrying forward and begging like the scum she was, "Come on, Yami, it's not my fault you were so easily misled by me! It's not my fault you believed me! It's not my fault you were so hot, dark and mysterious! It's not my fault you made me want to get rid of that insolent pup so I could be with you!"

"You realize you've done absolutely nothing to help yourself, right?" Bakura laughed from where he stood behind her and to her right, to ensure she wouldn't try to run off before her punishment. She was digging herself such a hole...

"You are right, Anzu... it isn't your fault that I was so easily fooled, "The dark said so calmly it scared Anzu, "It's my fault I believed who I thought to be a friend. It's my fault for being you I am. It's not your fault I made you want me that badly... It's your fault for being too weak and evil to deal with it like a good person would have."

The gold light flared around him like flames before shooting out to bind her as she stood to flee. She screamed as the light overcame her and began to work as it's master commanded it. Her screams were muffled before finally ceasing. Left in the place of the lying, backstabbing, heartless person who'd crossed him, was a middle-aged, obese woman with a crooked nose, grey hair, pudgy feet and hands, plain office attire, thick-lens glasses with out-of-style octagonal frames, and beady eyes of the dullest sickest green. She looked at herself and screamed, and the noise that came out was screechy and nasally. "What have you done to me?!"

"Your name is Laverne von Husster, you're an average woman who is possibly the most ugly woman on the planet. You're two-hundred pounds overweight, formerly married to a colleague who took all of your money with him, and have been teaching at schools in seven different states over the last thirty-five years, always having to leave under mysterious circumstances, though amazingly, you still find work. You have a second job at a chicken joint, and are trying to pay off that loan you should never have got twenty years ago. You teach seventh-grade math at Polk Middle School, and you have yet to find a student who likes you. Oh, and by the way, you're one of the most avid lesbian rights activists your town has ever seen. You're fifteen years from retirement to a nursing home. Have a nice life, Herr von Hussey!" With that, the flabbergasted woman was taken back to her rowdy class of kids.

Yami and Bakura watched the class prank her senseless until her big breakdown, after which she was carted away to a physc ward. They then returned to their light's home, walked back in, sharing twin looks of dark satisfaction. The dark look to them vanished the second they saw their hikaris conversing avidly inside the room with the other three guests.

"Yugi!" Yami was at his light's side in a flash, "You're alright! You are all right, aren't you? No ill effects from last night?"

The light turned from Yami back to Ryou, pulling his wallet from his back pocket and handing him a thousand yen bill with a sheepish grin, "I really need to learn not to bet on yamis, they always surprise you... I'm glad you're back, though. So, what were you two off doing?"

"Giving that witch her just desserts." Bakura smirked once more as he put his arms around his grinning hikari's waist, "I've never seen Yami take revenge so far before, not even on me or Marik."

"That's what happens when you mess with me and my hikari." The pharaoh grinned, ruffling Yugi's hair affectionately, "So, where do we go from here? You moving back to domino with us?"

"No way." Ryou shook, "We've got great jobs here, and I'm sure Chris would love to have you guys there. With so many famous duelists hanging around, he might even be able to open that second shop he's been aiming for."

"Yeah, and you could move in with us. We've got plenty of room. We could probably even add on to this place if need be."

"We can add on to this place whenever we want to, we've all got shadow magic."

"We don't need to use it on something as petty as a renovation. Besides, people will get suspicious, and the wards on this house are still up, though we'll alter them to accept your magic soon enough." Yugi reasoned smoothly before falling back into his dark embrace, "Besides, I fixed up this house almost entirely on my own. A little help from some friends, and a teensy bit of magic so I wouldn't have to call out some professionals for the stuff beyond my skill, but other than that, it was all me. It's fun."

"Yeah, besides, if you make it with your own two hands, you treasure it all the more." Jou quipped from the seat he was sharing with Kaiba.

The CEO snorted, "How would you know this? I buy you just about everything you need, pup."

The caused the hikaris to frown, "Wait, if Jou wasn't relying on us for cash or anything, why were you in on all of this?"

"I played along to ensure that no one took things too far, but then once I caught wind of Anzu's lies and started believed them, I was in it like Yami, for the payback. Anyways, Seto and I had been going steady since a few weeks after you left, Ryou." Jou replied with a blush, "Besides, we're getting off topic. And who do you think fixed up your grandpa's house, anyway? They weren't gonna spend a lotta money on fixing it, and they couldn't risk using shadow magic on it, so we were stuck fixing it the old fashioned way. It looks better than ever now."

"Wow..." Yugi was speechless, "Uh, thanks Jou... oh, speaking of Grandpa, did any of you visit his grave at all while I was gone? To change out the flowers, get rid of any leaves, things like that?"

"Yes, I went once every three months." Yami nodded, "I thought you were gone, and even if Anzu's lies had drove me to do what I'd done, I still felt something at your loss, and since we hadn't found your body to bury, I'd tended to your grandfather's grave as a way of atoning."

"Well, I'm very thankful for that." Yugi smiled, eyes drifting to the wall, and onto the atomic clock: 8:36. Eyes wide, he darted out of the bed and out the door, "I'M LATE!!"

Ryou looked up and panicked as well. He knew Chris would expect them to open if he was still in the hospital with Tatiana, who was still recovering from the bug that had gotten her at the tourney, "Sorry, guys, but we really need to get to work! You can come with, if you like, but we've gotta go now!"

1234567890-0987654321

Yami had been amazed at how much work Yugi did, but once he revealed that it was just a side-job, the dark was left speechless. Then he'd seen Yugi exchange his jacket for his tuxedo shirt, and promptly fainted. A short while later he found Yugi serving up drinks at the bar, and decided to go get one, only to have him yanked away by someone Yami had briefly seen at the tournament, who shoved a guitar case in his hands and shoved him out of the bar. Sighing, the light made his way to the makeshift stage and took the mike after dropping his case behind him.

"Alright, ladies and gents, it's that time again... Karaoke Night!" The crowd went wild, "You know the drill, ladies and gentlemen, come one up and sing your heart out, and tonight, we premiere a fun twist. You can pay to have someone dragged on stage to sing, or pay to have them removed from it. The price to get you off stage is triple the price that got you on it. Oh, and you can pay for encores, too. Any takers, or are you gonna make me bring out my guitar?"

The cheers this got caused the dark and the gang he'd found to quirk brows at young Ryou, who merely laughed before calling, "Hey, Yugi, show us something new!"

"Fine, but you guys better get up here!" He called back, beckoning them before unlatching his case and pulling out the guitar easily. The quintet hopped on stage, and immediately they settled into their respective pairs: Seto and Jou, Ryou and Kura, and Yami next to Yugi as he began strumming out a soft beat.

"I glance at you, first time in years...

You look so high, can't see the fears

You had when we had shared our tears.

I see you now, you're up so high!

What is it like, up in that sky?!

I look at you, I wonder why,

You don't fall down, cause you can't fly!

You're not as strong as them, or I!"

His guitar was louder, and his voice higher.

"I watch you now, can't help but cry,

You fell so far, and I'd want to die.

You've fallen fast, and fallen far,

You look like just a distant star.

A falling star can never last,

Now, let's go back,

Let's go back, back to the past!"

Yugi strayed a longing look at his dark before taking the mike again.

"I see you now, you're not so high,

And falling still through heaven's sky!

Reach for me now, or else you'll die!

These men can't save you from the lies.

But we both can, me and your light.

We've watched you fall, we've seen your plight.

Come now with us, and leave this night,

Come back to days, where life is right.

I reach for you, can't help but cry,

You've spiraled down, fell from the sky!

You've fallen fast, and fallen far,

You look like just a distant star.

A falling star can never last,

Now, let's go back,

Let's go back, back to the past!"

He was deep into it now, and the crowd was swaying with the beat as he swung his guitar to his back and grabbed the mike, dragging it close while his other hand extended to the crowd.

"Reach for my hand, reach for the light.

I'll catch your star, and make it bright!

I want to know, what began you plight?

What plunged you into this cruel night?!

Now look at me, I see your face.

I did before as I saw this place.

This cruel dungeon, this cruel cage,

Is where played out will be your fate!"

He strummed his guitar once more, voice more controlled once more.

"Now come along, come back and stay.

Return to him, and with him play.

You were falling fast, and falling far,

You looked like just a distant star.

A falling star will never last.

You came back,

Let's go back-"

Yami and Ryou joined in, arms around the singer as he belted out to his amazing audience, containing more than one talent scout, not that Yugi knew that.

"You were falling fast, and falling far!

You looked like just a distant star!

A falling star would never last.

So you came back,

You came back, back to the past..."

He leaned back into the mike, singing softly and vibrantly,

"We need you back, and back to stay...

Yes, he needs you back, needs you back, one last day..."

With the final chord, the audience roared like never before, and all the teens grinned as they congratulated the teen on his song before Jou took the mike, "Now c'mon, who wouldn't wanna sing after hearing that? Give it up for Yugi Motou!"

THE END ...or not.

Yugi went on to publish his first album the following year, with a remix album released a short time later done by Ryou. The quartet pairs, Yami/Yugi, Ryou/Kura, Malik/Marik, and Kaiba/Jou, still all participated avidly in Duel Monsters, taking great joy in each of their matches. Ara and Mokuba started dating a few weeks before Yugi's album hit the top 40 global charts. They were married three years later, at a duel-themed wedding. Tatiana's water broke during the ceremony, and Taiko's birth was announced before desert at the reception. Ryou caught the bouquet. Nine months to the day after the wedding, Ara gave birth to triplets Yumi, Ryku, and Maliri. Chris' Card Center went on to become a global chain, and the social hotspot for every teen scene from Tokyo to Texas. They all live outside their headquarters in Domino and Kyoto. Oh, and if you were wondering about Anzu, the gang went and got her out of the mental hospital... they turned her into a clumsy, tone-deaf little boy being raised by Marines called Abd-Al-Muna (Servant of Desires). He was cursed to grant every wish made of him except a wish freeing him or for him to reveal Anzu's life. Last time they checked in on him he showed proper respect to everyone he met, he couldn't lie unless someone wished him to, didn't sleep, always gave his food to those in need of it, unable to show emotion, and did the chores for his entire squad. Oh, did I forget to mention the other little part of his curse? He couldn't die until he retired, he was always in perfect shape, and he'd never be promoted to a position of authority. Oh, and he could never run away from his job. He's currently serving his sixth tour in Iraq.

NOW we have the end.

And it's finally over. CCC is done, and now I have 18 days to finish one of my screenplays before school starts. Review, PM or Email me if you want to see them and see which one you think I should finish. Oh, and you think I should finish one of my other stories before school starts, tell me which one, and I'll work on it.

-Ara, Goddess of the Broken


End file.
